Search Results (44)

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing and social media is gaining scholarly interest. While AI technologies offer significant potential for enhancing customer engagement (CE), their effectiveness depends on an industry’s level of digital and AI readiness. This is especially relevant for people-centric sectors such as tourism and hospitality, where digital maturity remains relatively low. This study aims to understand how AI supports CE and social media marketing (SMM), and to identify the key antecedents and consequences of its use. Using the PRISMA approach, we conduct a systematic review of 55 peer-reviewed empirical studies on AI-based CE and SMM. Our analysis identifies the main contributing theories and AI technologies in the field, and uncovers four central themes: (1) AI in customer service and user experience design, (2) AI-based customer relationships with brands, (3) AI-driven development of customer trust, and (4) cultural differences and varying levels of AI readiness. We also develop a conceptual framework that outlines the determinants and outcomes of AI-based CE, including relevant moderators and mediators. The study concludes with directions for future research and provides theoretical and managerial implications, particularly for the tourism and hospitality industries. Full article

Femvertising is increasingly being used by brands to showcase their values and attract consumers, especially in the fashion industry. Previous studies mainly focused on its impact on female consumers, while the perceptions and responses of male consumers are usually ignored. Focusing on the context of men purchasing women’s clothes as gifts, this study aimed to explore the impact of femvertising on male consumers’ gift purchasing intention and reveal the mechanism, with the mediating effects of female empowerment and brand hypocrisy and the moderation effect of gift recipient. A situational experiment was conducted to acquire data, and hypotheses were tested with regression analysis and the bootstrapping method. The results demonstrated that the total effect of femvertising on male consumers’ gift purchasing intention is not significant, but there is a positive mediating effect of female empowerment and a negative mediating effect of brand hypocrisy, and the mediating effect of female empowerment is stronger for a communal relationship (versus an exchange relationship). Full article

As sustainability becomes a vital concern for consumers, liquor firms are increasingly integrating sustainable culture into their brand promotion campaigns. This study examines two liquor firms’ competitive and cooperative promotion strategies of a sustainability culture via a game theoretical model. The analytical results are obtained as follows: (1) The correlation coefficient between sustainability culture and liquor products negatively affects the promotion level of sustainability culture under the cooperative promotion strategy, whereas its impact is non-monotonic under the competitive promotion strategy. (2) Under the cooperative promotion strategy, the initial disparity in sustainability cultures always positively affects the promotion level of the common sustainability culture. However, under the competitive promotion strategy, its impact is the opposite for a liquor firm with a weak sustainability culture and a liquor firm with a strong sustainability culture. (3) The necessary conditions for adopting a cooperative strategy for promoting a common sustainability culture are that the initial disparity in sustainability cultures between the two liquor firms is in a moderate range. Therefore, for managers in the liquor industry, careful assessment of the initial disparity in sustainability cultures is essential when formulating cooperative or competitive strategies. It is also crucial to recognize the nuanced role played by the correlation between sustainability culture and liquor products. Moreover, these findings offer a robust theoretical foundation for future research into the influence of sustainability culture on liquor supply chain ecosystems. Full article

Digital marketing strategies are vital for enhancing customer engagement, promoting brands, and ensuring sustainability. This study explores the influence of digital marketing on customer engagement and brand promotion within the dynamic tourism and hospitality industry while addressing a significant gap in incorporating employee position as a moderating variable. A quantitative research method was employed to collect data from 350 hotel employees in Tehran 4- and 5-star hotels. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to explore the moderator role. Key findings indicate that digital marketing strategies enhance customer engagement and positively influence brand promotion. Additionally, the moderating effect of employee position takes into account the differences among employees regarding service expectations and perceptions. Specifically, it highlights how the skills of managerial positions are better utilized when implementing digital strategies. This study supplements theoretical frameworks and practical applications and improves the strategic use of digital marketing in tourism and hospitality. The case study provides new insights for policymakers and hoteliers in the tourism and hotel industry. Full article

Within the global wave of manufacturing intelligence, AI technologies are revolutionizing industrial frameworks through deep integration. As a resource-intensive sector, fashion has become a pivotal arena for assessing AI’s role in sustainable development. China, the world’s largest apparel producer, faces unique AI integration challenges, highlighting the intersection of innovation and sustainability. To further explore the impact of AI-powered try-on technology on the impulsive buying intentions of young Chinese consumers, this research utilizes a modified version of the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. From the lens of online shopping, the research investigates how key features of AI-powered try-on technology, such as visual vividness, interactive control, personalized configuration, and ease of use, affect impulsive buying intentions. Additionally, the study examines the mediating roles of perceived utilitarian value, perceived hedonic value, and perceived immersion, alongside the moderating role of brand trust. A structured online survey was conducted with 366 participants, and the data were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The findings reveal that the four core attributes of AI-powered try-on technology have a positive effect on impulsive buying intentions. Furthermore, the mediating roles of perceived utilitarian value, perceived hedonic value, and perceived immersion, along with the moderating influence of brand trust, were substantiated. In the realm of online apparel shopping, AI-powered try-on technology effectively stimulates impulsive buying behavior and drives online purchases. These results offer valuable theoretical insights for enhancing AI-powered try-on applications, while also providing strategic guidance for fashion brands and e-commerce platforms in developing AI-driven sustainable marketing approaches. Full article

This study investigates how ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance influences the corporate value of publicly listed sports companies in China, with a focus on the mediating role of intangible assets and the moderating effect of the policy environment. Analyzing panel data from 41 A-share sports firms over 2009–2023 using a two-way fixed-effects model, the findings reveal that a robust ESG performance significantly enhances corporate value by strengthening brand equity and optimizing resource allocation. Intangible assets, particularly brand value, serve as pivotal mediators in translating ESG efforts into market value. Furthermore, the policy environment plays a critical moderating role: state-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibit amplified ESG-driven value creation due to stronger policy support and resource advantages. Robustness checks, including an instrumental variable analysis, reinforce the reliability of these conclusions, highlighting the interplay of ESG, intangible assets, and policy in driving long-term competitiveness within the sports sector. By addressing the unique dynamics of ESG in the sports industry, this research bridges a gap in the sector-specific literature and underscores ESG’s strategic importance in fostering sustainable business growth. The results provide actionable insights for corporate managers to align ESG strategies with brand development and for policymakers to design targeted frameworks that incentivize sustainable practices. Full article

This study examines the relationship between personal values embedded in brand-owned social media (OSM) messages and customer brand advocacy (CBA) using text mining data of tweets from Fortune 500 companies. We employ an economics approach to examine how personal values influence CBA across service and manufacturing brands. Our findings reveal that self-enhancement and conservation values significantly boost CBA, while self-transcendence and openness to change are less impactful. Furthermore, this study highlights that conservation values are more effective for manufacturing brands, whereas self-enhancement, self-transcendence, and openness to change drive higher CBA in service brands. This study contributes to the literature on social media marketing by providing actionable insights for brand managers, demonstrating that aligning OSM content with personal values can enhance CBA. This study offers a nuanced understanding of how personal values and industry characteristics intersect to influence consumer behavior, helping brands craft more effective and resonant social media strategies. Full article

Applying behavioral reasoning theory, this study examines the effect of social media food waste advertising on consumers’ intention not to waste food, with customer–brand communal engagement and awareness of food waste consequences acting as mediators, and fast-food customers’ altruism as a moderator. Structural equation modeling was applied to data from 422 customers of Malaysian retail fast-food chains. The findings reveal that social media food waste advertising positively affects customers’ intentions not to waste food directly and indirectly through two mediators: awareness of food waste consequences and customer–brand communal engagement. The stronger mediator was awareness, and it indicated that cognitive factors play a greater role in pro-environmental behaviors than emotional ones. Additionally, this study demonstrates that customer altruism moderates the cognitive pathway but not the emotional pathway. The results of these findings suggest that social media campaigns should focus on both cognitive and emotional dimensions as well as personal value to maximize effectiveness. The findings have implications for fast-food chains to design more effective social media campaigns that promote food waste reduction as part of broader sustainability goals in the food industry. Full article

This study investigates the interplay between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement and pricing strategies in shaping consumer purchase intentions in the fast fashion industry. Using a scenario-based experimental design with 267 participants, this research explores how different levels of CSR and two distinct price points influence purchasing behavior. Additionally, the moderating effects of individual differences, such as consumer wealth, motivations for sustainable behavior, and income, are examined. The findings indicate that higher levels of CSR engagement significantly enhance purchase intentions, particularly when combined with higher price points, perhaps due to consumer perceptions of CSR programs associated with more expensive brands as more authentic. However, price remains a critical factor for lower-income consumers, revealing an “ethical consumption gap” where affordability outweighs ethical concerns. Extrinsic motivations, such as social pressure, strongly influence wealthier consumers’ decisions, while intrinsic motivations show a more complex relationship with purchasing behavior. The findings provide practical insights for fast fashion brands, suggesting that aligning CSR with competitive pricing and authentic messaging is crucial for appealing to both price-sensitive and ethically conscious consumers. Full article

A thriving electric vehicles (EVs) market serves as a pivotal embodiment of the global push towards sustainable mobility. As one of the leading global EV sellers, China owns a huge used EV market, which should be spotlighted. While most studies focus on the mechanism of new EV purchases, few put their insight into the trade of used EVs. To fill this gap, this paper aims to clarify the mechanism of consumption behaviour towards used EVs. First, we identified 11 variables that have a direct or indirect impact on consumers’ purchase intention and constructed a conceptual framework. Then, we checked the structural relationships of the model through an empirical study (n = 431). The results showed that purchase intention was determined by two variables: perceived risk and attitude. We also observed an association between income and purchase intention. Functional risk had a direct and significant impact on perceived risk. Economic value, brand trust, and after-sales service were crucial predictors of attitude. Education could moderate the relationship between attitudes and purchase intention. Based on theoretical findings, we present the design strategies to enhance consumers’ purchase willingness from car companies’ and policymakers’ viewpoints. In practical situations, this article offers valuable insights for stakeholders related to the used EV industry, providing a critical reference for advancing sustainable mobility. Full article

This article draws on the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model to understand the role of negative emotions in the anti-brand behaviors of online users who consume snow sports brands. To this end, both the online social influence and the mediating effect of symbolic incongruence (stimulus) on the generation of negative emotions (anger, stress, frustration, fear, boredom and sadness) (organism), and how these influence the formation of negative customer brand engagement (nCBE) (response), are analyzed. The study also analyses the moderating effects of “level of expertise”, this makes it possible to capture differences in behaviors based on the profile of the users in each of the proposed relationships. Questionnaire responses of 400 ski and snowboard users over 18 years of age were analyzed using a quantitative methodology. The results obtained have important theoretical and practical implications, since they confirm that online social influences have both a direct and indirect (mediating) effect on negative emotions, which positively affects the nCBE of online users of snow sports brands. Significant differences in behavior based on experience level (moderation effect) were also found. The study proposes useful practical recommendations applicable in online environments that the extreme sports industry could use to neutralize/avoid highly detrimental consequences. Full article

In the context of new energy Electric Vehicles (EVs), certain car manufacturers engage in deceptive behaviors known as “greenwashing”, including activities such as “subsidy cheating”, “exaggerating carbon reduction claims”, and “selective disclosure of environmental information”. These behaviors have a negative impact on industry progress. While previous studies suggest that consumers’ perceptions of greenwashing towards individual brands extend to the industry as a whole and influence their overall purchase intentions, there remains a gap in understanding how these behaviors specifically affect consumers’ willingness to purchase EVs. To address this gap and enrich the literature on the relationship between greenwashing and consumer choice, this study uses ABC attitude theory and experimental methods to investigate the impact of greenwashing in the EV sector on consumers’ vehicle preferences in three experiments. The results show that consumers’ perceptions of greenwashing in one EV brand negatively influence their purchase intentions towards other brands, mediated by a general skepticism towards environmental claims in the industry. In addition, consumers’ innovativeness and attitudes towards other brands play a negative moderating role in this relationship. The research findings provide comprehensive insights into the complex impact of brand greenwashing on consumer behavior within the EV industry. Full article

Given the increasing competition and the impact of digital media in the automobile industry, dealerships need to understand the antecedents of customer happiness and brand love. The goals of the study are to analyse the combined influence of the cognitive and affective drivers of brand love for high-involvement products and its effects on behavioural intentions, paying special attention to the moderating role of susceptibility to information posted on social media. Using a sample of 317 Jordanian car buyers, a structural model is tested that confirms that the sales consultant’s empathy is a strong predictor of customer happiness during a car purchase and a stronger predictor of his/her trust in the car dealership. Happiness and trust translate into greater brand love, which in turn can generate resistance towards negative information posted on social media; positive electronic word-of-mouth; and willingness to pay more. Happiness fully mediated the relationship between empathy and car brand love. The effect of the impact of the perceived empathy of salespeople on customer happiness was stronger for consumers with low susceptibility to information posted on social media. This work expands the academic knowledge of the direct mediating and moderating effects of brand love. Full article

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of theoretical research on corporate social responsibility and its influence on practical activities. The impact of corporate social responsibility on business performance has received attention from scholars and managers. However, the existing research lacks the empirical analysis concerning the moderating effects of long-term business performance (brand value) and social capital. This study was based on the relevant data from listed, Chinese companies and conducted regression analysis on the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance and brand value, exploring its moderating effects under different social capital. The results showed that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was significantly positively correlated with financial performance and brand value. Both horizontal and vertical social capital played a positive moderating role in the impact of CSR on financial performance and brand value. These conclusions differed between companies that were required to disclose and those that had voluntarily disclosed, as well as between heavily polluting industries and non-heavily polluting industries. This article enriches the existing theoretical framework and provides decision-making references for business managers on whether to take on corporate social responsibility, contributing to the theoretical understanding of corporate sustainable development from a social responsibility perspective. Full article

A series of corporate embezzlement cases in Taiwan prompted the enactment of regulations by the government to enforce the corporate governance (CG) mechanism in listed companies. Prior research has given limited attention to investigating the link between CG and brand equity (BE) in the tourism sector. This study aims to use the resource-based theory and the convergence of interest hypothesis to explore the moderating role of CG in the relationship between BE and corporate profitability (CP). This investigation takes into account ten control variables encompassing company-specific factors and macroeconomic indicators. Utilizing financial data from the Taiwan Economics Journal Database (TEJ), the study covers a 16-year span (2000–2015) and examines 196 records from 32 publicly listed tourism companies. The analysis employs a fixed-effect panel regression approach, utilizing four distinct models with varying dependent variables. The results reveal a positive and significant impact of BE on CP within the context of Taiwanese-listed tourism firms. Importantly, CG is found to moderate the relationship between BE and CP. These findings offer actionable insights for management to enhance profitability by strategically improving both BE and CG practices within the tourism industry. The managerial implications are discussed in depth. Full article